Jolly July

We've made it to July. Continued summer fun! 3 in-state family trips, cheer camp, Take Your Kid to Work with Brent, and Trent started his FIRST JOB!!!

July 4 was a subdued affair as we were all reeling from the floods in Texas and the loss of so many lives not too far from us. It rained really hard at our house but nothing like what other parts of the state got.

We didn't get to do the golf cart parade but still decorated the cart!

Our neighbors adopted 2 new kitties - the girls were so excited to go meet them!

Our newest cheerleader had her first cheer camp. She is loving it!

Take Your Kid to Work Day at LJA!

Trent also started his first job in July. He applied at a LOT of places around our little town and got hired by his #1 choice, H-E-B {which is a Texas-based grocery store chain that ALL Texans LOVE}. He's saving up to pay for some of the expenses we'll have once he gets his car {if he ever finishes his driving hours!}.

We went to see Brent's cousin, Philip, for a quick weekend trip. I didn't take any pictures except the below - we had Brent and Drew recreate a picture from a trip we took 7 years ago. These kids are growing up TOO fast!

Brent's parents and I took the kids to an exotic zoo in Johnson City. We toured LBJ State Park and properties and then spent 2 nights on the zoo property. Was great to get away for a few days - the kids had fun swimming, the zoo, being spoiled by grandparents!

Our last trip of July was our annual Swope family vacation. We added my cousin, Hagan, and her family {3 boys!} this year, so we had 8 adults and 10 kids. We rented a cabin that held everybody, had a pool/hot tub, and was a short distance to Lake LBJ. {We've stayed at this resort before with Brent's family and then for a wedding on my side of the family.} We haven't hung out as much with Hagan's family, but the kids had a great time together and all want to get together again! The kids ages were 16, 16, 16, 14, 12, 12, 12, 9, 8, 1!

We never got a picture of everyone together, but we managed to get some assorted groups, ha.

All 10 of the kids! My grandparents would be so tickled to see this picture!

So much fun and family time!

Pause in Programming for BOOK TALK!

Since I'm at the halfway point of the year in catching up on the blog, I thought it was time to take a little pause and talk books! It is too overwhelming to think about posting about all the books I've read so far - I'm almost to 90 books. So I thought I could share my favorites through now, and I can restart doing book reviews soon!

First up, the Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman! It's a YA graphic novel series, but I loved it so much. OMG, I am obsessed with this. Also watched the Netflix show and it was fantastic too. Not so patiently awaiting the last book which has been made into a movie - both coming out in 2026.

I also read some really great memoirs. I did all of these as audiobooks because I love hearing the authors narrate their own stories. These all made me laugh and/or cry. 

   

             

       

Another great Fantasy series I started this year. I've read the 3 books that are out, 4th {and final} book to come! The Kindred's Curse series by Penn Cole. The first book was a little on the slower side, but I really liked the 2nd book and loved the 3rd.

These were both some really great historical fiction. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead looks at the actual underground railroad but with a sci-fi twist. It was so, so good but also VERY hard. I've loved Dances with Wolves the movie SO MUCH and can't believe I've never read the book. I remedied that this year and am so glad I did, it was fantastic!

And these were my favorite fiction books so far. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune is the second book about 2 brothers. The first was Every Summer After and I'm so glad I got to be back with this family! The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley is a debut book by a woman who wrote the most amazing Dramione fan fiction that I read last year {Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Falling in Love}, and I was super excited to read this. I would say it isn't as good as her fan fiction, but I really enjoyed it AND there will be a sequel, yay!

I do share all my reads on Goodreads and in my Instagram stories if you ever want more details on what I've done so far this year! But I do plan on getting back to more detailed reviews.